Many hands make light work!

I have been searching the net and racking my brain to try and figure out a system for having the kids do chores around the house.  There are many great systems and ideas, but it is important that you find something that will work for your family.  In my case, I sometimes find that the trouble with a system is actually me, not the kids.  When jumping into anything new, you truly have to commit.  I am often a great starter, but am not always committed entirely to the process and thus over time, it fails.  So, when considering a chore system, I wanted it to be manageable for both the kids and my husband and I, so that it would with stand the test of time.  I am trying very hard to be "a little, a lot person" instead of "a lot, a little person".  You know do little things and make small changes, but make a big, long term commitment instead of trying to do things in such a big way that you end up losing momentum and feeling like a failure.

Here is what we came up with:
We set up bank accounts for each of the children and arranged to have a direct deposit come from our account to each of theirs on a weekly basis ~ alas, the allowance!  I have gone back and forth on this one.  So many experts on the subject with varying opinions - to pay or not to pay - that is the question!  We decided that we like the idea of the kids learning to manage their own money and to begin the process of giving 10%, spending %, saving 10% and using the other 70% as they wish (within our family guidelines, of course).  This way, they will learn the value of a dollar and have the opportunity to learn about both good and bad  choices.  I find it difficult to monitor when I should give them money for a treat, etc and when to say no.  I will most often say no, as I am always trying to avoid over indulging and spoiling our children.  As a result, I never no when I am being fair and when I am being a good parent.  Thus, we decided to give them a little more freedom to make their own choices and learn from their own mistakes.  They will receive 50 cents per year or an amount equivalent to half their age.  So, our 10 year old gets $5 per week and our 8 year old gets $4.  Not a huge amount, but enough to begin to make some of their own choices.  I like the concept of the bank account because we do not have to worry about having the cash on hand for allowance day and the money is not burning a whole in their pocket.  They can make a withdrawl using their bank card so that they can have a little money on hand, and use the card to make direct payments when we are out shopping.

I used a combination of ideas from several sources and this is what I came up with.

 Using a dollar store cookie sheet, I covered the surface with some scrapbooking paper, typed out a list of daily chores as well as a weekly schedule for each child and printed it out on cardstock.  I bought wooden letters to represent the kid's initials and covered them with coordinating patterned paper.  I then used large glass beads to create magnets for both the dishwasher and the table.  The EMPTY/CLEAN and SET/CLEAR magnets switch each week.  So, in addition to the kids regular daily chores (make bed, brush teeth, clean sink, empty backpack, do homework/reading, empty "crap basket" from the stairs), they are also responsible for putting away their clean laundry, dishwasher duty and either setting or clearing the table.
Our Garbage and Recycling are picked up on Wednesdays, and the kids are also responsible for taking both out throughout the week when needed as well as moving the bins out on Tuesday evening, so they are ready for Wednesday pick-up.  On Saturday mornings, the kids do their regular daily chores, but instead of making their bed, they strip the sheets/pillow cases for washing and I help them make their bed with clean bedding.  They are also required to "pick a chore".  I got the idea from  whateverdeedeewants.com, but modified the chores to meet our family's needs.  We started with just one extra chore per week, but the kids have been told that there are times when they will be asked to pick to or 3.  They still have an opportunity to "put a chore back" or "relax" and be chore free, if they pick a lucky stick.

BEFORE:  I bought this crazy ugly wooden box at a yard sale for  a quarter and turned it into a little box that holds our chore sticks.

AFTER:  Ugly clown box becomes cute little chore box.

I found appropriate clip art on the web, increased the transparency of the graphic and then added the text in front for these chore magnets.

 I hung the chore system up below our family schedule.  So far, so good!

Many hands make light work!

Disco Birthday Party

Okay, I must admit that the birthday parties are getting much easier as the kids get older and just want to hang out and do their own thing.  I like that I am not stressing about every detail and spending hours making props and decorations, but I also miss the fun of planning and executing a true full blown theme party that has every detail planned out. (Of course, I miss that as I am a raging Type A and am all about the details.)  Some of the best parties I did were pre-digital and all the shots were captured on my 35mm.  Too bad! Maybe someday I can have them transferred to digital form.

My daughter's most recent birthday was probably the easiest yet.  Aside from the invitations, banner and cake….I really didn't do much else.  Here are some pictures from her party.

For the invitation, I made a record and attached the outfit to the front.  I cut the outfit out of old jeans and some fabric left over from my daughter's Halloween hippie costume.  I printed the party details in  a circle shape on the computer and then printed them out on purple paper that matched the shirt and glued the info on the back.  They turned out really well.  The envelope was made out of white card stock.  The shoe was made on my cricut.

The invitation is the record with the disco outfit on the front, to the left is the envelope I made for it.

My traditional birthday banner!

The disco cake - I think one of my best attempts at fondant!  I might finally have it down pat.  I have found that the marshmallow fondant works the best.

Star Wars Birthday Party

My son's 6th birthday party had a Star Wars theme.  When planning a birthday party, I basically plan according to this:
1. Invitations - design the invitation, decide on the timeline and get them sent out
2. Decorations - table cloth, center piece, banner
3. Activities/Games
4. Food/Snacks
5. Design, bake and decorate the cake(s)
6. Loot Bags - I am not a fan of dollar store junk or candy.  I rarely include any in my loot bags unless their is a really good link to the theme.  I tend to buy one or two more expensive items as opposed to many little items.


Here are some of the things we did for his Star Wars party:

Invitations:
Okay, we made really cool DVD invitations.  I used iMovie to create a movie that was done like the words that scroll at the beginning (or is it the end?) of Star Wars movies.  It began with a starry sky and that led into the words in the invitation that scrolled while the movie (and Stars Wars theme song) played.  At the end, I had all the details again along with a Star Wars Picture my son had drawn.  I tried like crazy to upload the video, but couldn't get it to work.  So here is my lame attempt at sharing  - a photo of my computer screen, yep, pretty high tech hey??

The actual font colour was yellow, but it doesn't really show here.

Here is what the invitation said, in Star Wars language.

In a galaxy far, far away, on the morning of June 4, 2004, a baby boy was born.

The Jedi Council named him Shay Alexander Roy and they knew he was the chosen one.  In the 6 years that followed his birth, young Shay has been learning the power of the force.  Meanwhile, the Republic discovered a new enemy.  The Jedi knights felt a strong disturbance in the force.  Fear, pain and suffering have opened the path to the Darkside.

Many Jedi knights have been lost.  The very future of the Jedi Order is now in jeopardy.  Young Padawan Shay has been called by the Jedi Council to seek out future Jedi.  Master Yoda is urging the youngling to complete their training and take part in the upcoming trials.

Your presence is requested to complete this Jedi Training and prepare for the trials on June 4th, 2010.  

We are scheduled to depart from the Roy System, Docking Bay at _____________ at 1100 hours.  

Please advise the Jedi Council as soon as possible via email or at 453-0462.  

We hope you will accept the challenge of the trials.

May the Force be with you!

Please note:  Due to safety protocols in the Republic, no weapons will be allowed on the transport vessel.  Please forgive the inconvience and rest assured that the Jedi Council has secured enough equipment for the Padawans to complete their training.

Decorations:

As always, I make a large birthday banner.  I tried to use Star Wars type font although it was handmade, so is certainly not exact.  I also included one of Shay's Star Wars drawings since he is fanatical about drawing Star Wars characters.

Other than that, the decorations were pretty simple and not much to brag about.  Kind of sad really:(

Of course, there was Star Wars music playing in the background.

Birthday Banner with the tie fighters below on the window sill.

The was the Death Star made from a spray painted beach ball and a black Sharpy for detail. It hung above the table.

The table was a simple black table cloth with planets on it.  You can see a tie fighter cupcake beside the earth.

We also put up some black and white balloons.

Activities:

Jedi Training - Have someone be the "Master Jedi" and teach the younglings some Jedi moves

Pass the Asteroid - a large crunched up ball of foil.  Pass the asteroid around the circle and when the music stops, whoever is left holding the asteroid is out.  They loved this!

Asteroid Hunt - hide foil balls around and see who can find the most asteroids

Light Saber Limbo

Star Wars Mural - large black paper, have the kids draw characters, planets, starfighters, etc.

Food/Snacks:

I keep my parties to about 2 hours.  I rarely go over meal time and I find that there is seldom extra down time.  As a kindergarten teacher, I know that if there is not structure, things can get very ugly very fast!  I usually leave about 30 to 45 minutes for cake and presents at the end and plan for about 15 minutes of quite activity while the guest arrive (like the mural).  Kids can join in as they come, and we can get started with the games once everyone has arrived.  I tend to keep them pretty busy and thus I find they have little time and/or interest in eating.

Basically, I usually serve a beverage and a few snacks.  This time we had:

Chips and dip

Star shaped crackers and cheese

Yoda Soda (sprite and lime sherbert mixed together - foams up and the kids thought it was so cool)

Cake:

Okay, call me crazy, but we actually had 3 parties in one day for my son….school friends, neighbours and a family party.  Also, I nearly always serve ice cream with the birthday cake.

I made three different styles of cake and of course, some turned out better than others as you will see.  However, I am going to bite the bullet and share all three, despite the fact that one was an absolute bust.  

Great concept, but didn't work that great.  This Light Saber cake has a blue jello "light saber" - cool, but the handle is a bit big for the light and the colours ran a bit in the icing.

Tie Fighter cupcakes.  The sides were made out of black foam board.

Loot Bags:

Jedi Costumes - I made each of the kids a Jedi robe

Glow in the dark light sabers

Space kite

Galaxy Slime

Jedi Costumes

Yee Haw! Best Halloween Costumes

 This costume was hilarious!  My son was 5 and my daughter 7.  I love the Halloween costumes that go together like this.  Of course, you can only get away with that for a few years and then you must relinquish some control and let them choose their own costumes.  Anyways, I made the horse from cardboard boxes and paper mache.  I used an dollarama rug for the saddle blanket and bought some thrift store jeans and cowboy boots for the bottom.  They made such a cute couple and Shay had us all in stitches as he "trotted" along the sidewalks.  What fun!

A few more projects...

Well just one week until I have to go back to school :(
It is always so sad when summer ends and it is back to schedules and routines.  During the last two weeks of August, I always feel torn between how I should best spend the remainder of my holiday.  Time is so precious and of course, once gone, you can never get it back.  Anyways, I feel like I walk this tight rope and am trying so hard to find the right balance.  On the one hand I am thinking "I better get out and enjoy the weather and try to relax because school will soon be here and September is always a marathon" and " Oh no!  I only have two weeks left to get everything finished on my  'to do list' (ha! ha! - like that would EVER happen".   In order to help keep me sane, I decided to do one of those lists that is prioritized - you know deciding what is important vs. those things that I want to do, but really aren't that important.  It did help me to sort my lists a bit and get a better handle on what really needed to get done and what might get done someday (I am terrible at waiting for someday!)

Anyways, here are a few pics of some little projects of done in the last couple of days.
I had wanted to try to make my own form of subway art for a long time.  I saw a great tutorial for a quick and easy version at http://thewinthropchronicles.blogspot.ca/2012/03/baby-stats-subway-art.html

I decided to make mine a sign outlining the chores I expected the kids to do in their bathroom.  It basically serves two purposes - art and chore list!

Bathroom Chores for the Kids' bathroom

Here is the art in the bathroom.  Still need a little something above it though.

I am bound and determined to some how get my family (including me!!) organized to the point where there are no longer any (and I mean ZERO) piles of junk on my kitchen counters.  I have been doing several projects to get my kitchen organized including the menu and weekly schedule I posted previously.  I also painted an old cabinet that sits by the stove and holds the fruit bowl.  We are now using the top drawer for wallets, keys, etc.  (I hope to install some wire drawers in the bottom for our onions and potatoes, but haven't got that done yet.  (It is on the someday list!)  I found some of those old wooden building blocks at a garage sale and used the blocks and some doweling to make a key rack for our kitchen.  

I really like these little cell phone charger caddies and just had to make one.  I used some fabric scraps and a little Mod Podge to cover an old hair conditioner bottle.  I was pretty excited with the way it covered and came out so smooth.  However, when I went to actually put the cell phone in, there was not enough clearance between the cord and the whole.  Of course, I never thought of this prior to finishing the project.  The tutorial I found suggested a Johnson's Baby Lotion bottle, which is quite a bit larger than this, but I didn't have one and was not nearly patient enough to actually purchase the product and wait the year it took to use the product (I am also very frugal so I wouldn't dream of wasting it).  Oh well, another lesson learned!  The good news is that in the process of messing this up, I actually accomplished something on my "someday list".  I find our family uses lots of AA and AAA batteries and unfortunately, I have never ever recycled a battery (Yikes!  Yes, I just admitted that to all.)  I do take a moment to pause and think about what a horrible person I am, each time I throw them directly in the garbage, but unfortunately "recycling batteries" has not yet made my "important/urgent" list.  However, since this little caddy won't work for the intended purpose, the cell phone caddy will now have to wait and my family will begin to be kinder to the earth and recycle batteries.  Although my little pouch won't hold more than a handful, I can easily take the collection into work and add them to our battery recycling tub there.  Yay me!!

My 44th Birthday Quest for 44 RAOK

44 YEARS OLD/44 DOLLARS/44 ACTS OF KINDNESS
May 24th, 2012

This certainly was not my idea, but I came across a blog last fall and was completely intrigued by the idea of completely acts of kindness on your birthday, equal to your age.  I "pinned" the blog and as my May 24th birthday drew near, I began to research other ideas as well.  Although I had planned to pursue this quest for months prior to my birthday, the majority of the organization and planning occurred in the week prior to my birthday.  I am get one day off per 6 day cycle, and as luck would have it, my day off landed on my actual birth date.  There were many things that I got ready prior to May 24th, so that I would be able to complete all I had planned within one day.

Eden and Shay delivering clothes to a little girl.

I made up a recording sheet on the computer and kept track of all of the "acts of kindness" completed and how many people may have been impacted by the one act (last column).  It was really important to keep a record or it would be impossible to stay on track and know where I was at in my quest.  I did most of the preparation myself and spent the morning doing tasks that were further from home and involved people from my work or friends through work.  I picked my kids up at lunch and they joined me for the afternoon.  This was really special as they rarely miss school!

#	✔	Description	# of Acts
1	✔	Left a some home baked cookies and a candy for the newspaper deliverers.	2
2	✔	Baked fresh muffins and tea biscuits for my hubby and kids for breakie.	3
3	✔	Left fresh cookies and a note for the mailman.	1
4	✔	Wrote a love note and left it with a treat for my hubby.	1
5	✔	Bought the meal (s) for the car behind me in the drive through at McDonald’s when I stopped for coffee.	1
6	✔	Delivered a plate of home baked cookies to Dr. Lee’s office and took them when I had my eye appointment that morning.	4
7	✔	Plugged the 25 cent candy machines at the mall for the little ones that came by for a treat.	4
8	✔	Gave the outdoor maintenance man a bottle of water and cookies for his break.	1
9	✔	Dropped off a plate of baking at Dr. Dan’s office.	4+
10	✔	Gave 2 men doing street repairs a bottle of water each.	2
11	✔	Dropped off a notepad I had decorated off in my friend Barb’s mailbox.	1
12	✔	Dropped off a magnet set and card for my friend Tami, as she was facing some medical difficulties within her family.	1
13	✔	Delivered a bag of clothes that don’t fit to the little girl across the street.	1
14	✔	Dropped off notepads to my friends Robin and Barb.  Gave them a hug and “hi” and was on my way.	2
15	✔	Dropped off a fresh muffin for my friend Connie.	1
16	✔	Dropped off a muffin and card for my friend Mary.  She phones me every year to sing me “happy birthday” and will always leave me a message when I am not home to chat.  I can’t believe she never forgets my birthday, even though we seem to go years without actually connecting in person.  What a gem!!  (This was one of the best moments of my day - I got to surprise her on my birthday!!)	1
17	✔	Dropped off a notepad for my friend Kirsten.  (Another great friend who never misses sending warm wishes for birthdays and other special occasions.)	1
18	✔	I actually took the car in and got a complete interior and exterior wash/cleaning for my husband.  This never happens, so it was fun to surprise him!!	1
This is the point that I picked up my kids and they joined me for the remaining acts!
19	✔	Placed 2 kites in trees at the park with a note attached that said:  “Finders keepers!”	2+
20	✔	We randomly dropped several dollars worth of coins at the playground for kids to find while playing.	10+
21	✔	We filled a wooden “treasure chest” from Dollarama with dollar store toys and sealed candy and then buried it deep in the sandbox at the park.  What fun!!  (It is gone, I wonder who found it??)	10+
22	✔	I had bought a few packages of Silly Bandz.  My kids helped hand some out to a group of Day Care kids that were at the park.	10+
23	✔	I mailed a “get well” card to my Uncle Ken.	1
24	✔	I wrote letters (prior) to my Aunty Dora and my friend Patty and mailed them.	2
25	✔	Dropped off 2 magnet sets and a notepad to teachers at my kids’ school.	3
26	✔	Stopped to offer Carol and Kelly bottles of water while they were out for a run.	1
27	✔	Drove around a park offering bottles of water and cookies.  (Offered 7, handed out 5)	5
28	✔	Paid for the lady’s meal behind us at Tim Horton’s drive through.	1
29	✔	Delivered a box of fresh donuts to the local fire station.	12
30	✔	Delivered a box of fresh donuts to the local police station.	12
31	✔	Let a lady totally cut me off in traffic and just waved at her and smiled :)	1
32	✔	We taped 5 loonies to 5 different toys in the Dollarama store.	5
33	✔	Bought Eden and Shay treats at Tim Horton’s.	2
34	✔	Handed out Silly Bandz at the Children’s Hospital.	10+
35	✔	Loaded 5 vending machines with the correct change for “treats/coffee/newspaper
36	✔	Dropped off fresh baking for the nurses on the Cancer ward at the Children’s Hospital.	5+
37	✔	Dropped off a bag of activities for families to do while waiting in the lounge at Children’s Hospital.	4+
38	✔	Dropped off 5 gift bags (full of books, puzzles, games, etc) for patients at the Children’s Hospital.	5
39	✔	Put packages of gum with a note reading “Mint to brighten your day!” on the windshields of 4 cars in the hospital parking lot.	4
40	✔	Handed out 2 pre-made snack bags and water bottle to 2 homeless people plus extra water for the dog!	2
41	✔	Dropped off two boxes of granola bars at Springs Inner City (food drive).	16
42	✔	Gave our waitress at dinner a 20% tip.	1
43	✔	Gave the clerk that helped me at Garage clothing a Toblerone bar to enjoy at the end of her long day.	10+
44	✔	Wrote thank you notes for my kids and left them on their pillows to find at bed time - thanking them for all of their help in fulfilling my birthday wish!	2

In order to be able get everything done, there were many things I did ahead of time to prepare.  Here is a list of some of the preparations I did in the days leading up to my actual birthday:

-baked 6 dozen cookies (peanut free)

-wrote all of the letters to be mailed and put the stamps on them

-bought all of the items for the gift bags

I labelled the bags for the hospital so that the nurses would know if the gifts were appropriate for a boy or a girl and what age.

These were the items in the bag for families waiting in the lounge.

These were the snack bags for the homeless (a tuna snack can, granola bars, juice box, crackers, cookies and/or a fruit)

Packages of gum with notes for the hospital parking lot.

I wrapped many of the baking treats like this and then added a little note.

Above and below:  These are all dollar store notepads.  I used my scrapbooking supplies to decorate/re-vamp the front covers to make them suitable little gifts.  Inexpensive, but cute!

These were the 2 kites we left in the park.

This was the treasure chest we buried in the sandbox.

I glued scrapbooking paper to the bottom of glass beads and added magnets to them.  I then made these cute little boxes for the magnet sets, added a verse (and/or a note) and passed them out as little gifts meant to brighten people's day!

-wrote out all of the little notes that would be attached to the little gifts

-wrapped the necessary gifts

-got out ribbon and cellophane ready to wrap the fresh muffins and cookies

Treats for the newspaper deliverers.

-made sure I had cash and change on hand for the vending machines

-I always have a tub of clothing that is too small, so that was easy to bag up ahead of time 

-made the home made notepads and magnet sets the weekend before

-I pre-planned my route, approximate timing and people that I wanted to bless along the way

-I had lots of items prepared to randomly bless strangers we encountered

-I purchased a case of water and ice (just put the water in a cooler early that morning to chill)

In order to pull this all off, I was up at 5:30 am baking fresh muffins and biscuits, loading the car and getting organized for my day.  I literally finished my last act around 9 pm, totally exhausted, but thrilled with the success of the day.  You can see that many of the acts only counted as one on my list of 44, but may have impacted as many as 10 people.  

There were several really memorable moments from the day…..surprising Mary with the muffin and note BEFORE she had a chance to phone and sing me "Happy Birthday!", the city worker in the park that was sweating as he worked and got choked-up with our small offer of cookies and water, and my 8 year old son's revelation that "it really does feel good to do nice things for others!"  (he said he thought grown-ups were trying to trick him when they said that - he finally REALLY got the message from the "Bucket Book" - yay!!).  It was amazing to watch my kids as they became totally absorbed in how they could make others feel goo by simple, small random acts of kindness.  Towards the end of the day, I observed how the behaviour became so much more considerate - emphasis on good manners, opening/holding the door for others, more observant and in tune with those in need.  Made me just want to freeze that moment in time, when there is not even a moment to think of yourself, because you are totally consumed with the welfare and happiness of others!  Such an incredible experience, on so many levels.

I basically accomplished my quest, but blew my $44 budget.  I think that you could easily do it for that amount, but I got carried away with the gifts, etc.  If you were to count every single act of kindness, it would be easy to stay within a tight budget.  For example, instead of 4 packs of gum, do one.

Happy birthday to me!!  By far the most memorable in my 44 years!